In the Wake of a War
by OliviaKatetheGreat
Summary: It was over. But they were all still suffering from the emotional effects of the war. A story of how they all lost, mourned, and began to move on. Characters reflect latest chapter.
1. Gossip

Parvati Patil sat alone in front of Florean Fortescue's Diagon Alley shop. The weather was sunny and beautiful, her favorite kind of day, but she was somber. Parvati watched the people stroll by. She recognized a few of the faces here and there—Harry and Ginny walking together, dogged by paparazzi, Michael Corner laden with parcels. Once she had planned to be one of those reporters.

If Lavender was here, Parvati thought, she would laugh at Michael struggling to hold so many packages. She would say something like "Is he a wizard or what?" Then they would gossip and giggle until the day was over. Parvati imagined herself waving goodbye and going home to Padma. Or better yet, not leaving at all and going home to the flat the friends would share.

But that was not to be. Never again. The friendship and friend that Parvati had nearly taken for granted were gone. Vanished like mist when the sun came out. She remembered the way that Lavender's lifeless body had looked that morning. She remembered the morning when she had been nearly jubilant. It was over, she'd thought in the Great Hall. It had been hard, but it was over, and now she could celebrate and mourn with her closest friends. Tears sprang to her eyes as she recalled walking through the hall, looking for her best friend. As she recalled asking, the kindly woman's finger pointing to the rows of the dead.

Padma didn't understand. Yes, she had lost friends too, but none close. Now that it was August, months later, Padma had all but moved on. Truth be told, Parvati had been closer to Lavender than her own twin, and it was painful to see how carefree Padma was. Parvati was about to begin sobbing in earnest when a voice sounded from the chair to the right. It was Dean.

"Would you like to talk about it?" He sounded concerned.

"Not really." She sounded like a small child. He nodded, and pulled his chair closer. They sat together in silence for a minute or so, before she began talking. She told him about how she couldn't stop thinking about Lavender. About how Padma didn't understand. About how even though they were supposed to move on and all, how could she repeat seventh year without Lavender?

He nodded at her words, and didn't comment. Then he told her about Seamus. Seamus couldn't get over Lavender either. He told her about not missing anyone in particular, and how he felt terrible looking at the shape everyone else was in. He told her about how he looked at the people in Diagon Alley and how others looked so sad, and he just felt so relieved that it was over and that he wasn't persecuted anymore.

They talked for an hour. At the end, each of them felt a little better. Perhaps Dean had transferred a little of his happiness to Parvati, and she made him slightly sadder. It worked for both of them. And as Parvati arrived home that night, one thought was prominent in her mind.

_Perhaps it will be easier to get through this together._


	2. Camera

Perhaps, thought Dennis, his life was in black and white. It fit. Those old photographs he had looked at with his brother always seemed more serious and dark. That was his life. It had been hard enough realizing that his brother wasn't in Hogsmeade like the rest of them. Harder still, to not find him among the exhausted survivors the next morning. The worst, though, had been going home to his parents and having to explain the fact that their oldest son would never come home.

They had known something was terribly wrong when their tearstained son stood alone in front of their house that afternoon. He had stood with a trunk at each side. In his trembling hands, he held the camera that had been found shrunk in Colin's pockets.

Dennis and Colin had claimed to be related to one of the half-blood Fifth Years in order to go back to school. Their parents had known that something in the Wizarding world was going wrong. They hadn't known about the battle, though. And how could they? They were Muggles, and didn't have any way of knowing current events. It was a terrible shock.

Dennis fingered the camera. It had been his brother's most treasured possession. He had taken photos for everything. The Creeveys had a wall full of albums of pictures. The books gathered dust now. While the boys were at Hogwarts, the albums were kept in peak condition. Now, no one had the heart to go near them, lest they be opened, and the photos taken by Colin seen by all. His parents winced when Dennis brought out the camera. They wouldn't look at people taking photos in the street. They turned off the television when a camera commercial was on. They dealt with the pain by forgetting.

Colin had wanted to be a photographer when he was older. The two had considered going into business together. Dennis would write, and Colin would capture the subject. They had planned on looking for rare beasts together and making a book. Dennis had thrown the camera around quite a lot when he had been so upset and—angry. The numbness had given way to cold anger. Why had Colin been so stupid? Why had he let himself get killed? The moron had run of without even saying goodbye. But that was over, and now, he was just ready to stop wallowing in his grief. He needed to do something to keep his mind off of Colin.

He looked at the room. Right now, if Colin were here, they would be taking pictures. What else did Colin know? So Dennis raised the small black box.

_Click._


End file.
